July 2012 Industry Focus

Following are personnel changes and announcements in the trucking industry:

Biron

Meritor Inc. has appointed Stephen Gudgel to the position of managing director, Axles & Drivelines, Commercial Truck, Europe; and Silvio Barros to the position of managing director, Axles & Drivelines, Commercial Truck, South America. Meritor also recently named Tim Burns vice president and general manager, Defense & Specialty, Industrial; and Mikel Slater vice president, Business Unit/Functional Human Resources and Talent Acquisition.

Jacobs Vehicle Systems announced Dave Biron has completed the requirements to be named an ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.

Accuride has named Greg Kern the new vice president of the company’s Imperial Group business unit.

Noga

Josh Schwartz has been appointed director of product management for HDA Truck Pride.

Medina

Old World Industries, LLC has hired Bryan Emrich as vice president of marketing.

SKF has appointed Katie Noga to director, automotive communications for the SKF Vehicle Service Market USA.

Phillips Industries has added three territory sales. Joining Phillips as territory sales managers are Nick Chelman in the Southeast region, Thomas Lewis in the South Atlantic region and Kent Crymes in the Southern region.

Gloria Medina has been promoted to client project manager at The Marx Group.

Dealership News

The following is news from dealerships in the trucking industry:

Rihm Kenworth has expanded its reach west in Minnesota by opening its fourth location, a 16,000-sq.-ft. full-service dealership in Sauk Centre.

Kenworth Sales Co. has opened its new 10,000-sq.-ft. parts and service facility located two miles southeast of Pendleton, Ore. The new facility is the company’s 20th location.

Warner Truck Centers has opened a 62,000-sq.-ft. dealership in the Crossroads Point development, six miles southeast of Jerome, Idaho.

Peach State Truck Centers, parent company of Peach State Ford Truck Sales and Peach State Freightliner, recently acquired the assets of Liberty Truck Sales of Birmingham, Ala. The new dealership will operate as Birmingham Freightliner.

Bruckner Truck Sales expanded its number of service centers by adding Denver to its network. Bruckner’s now has a total of 18 locations serving five states: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado.

Economic News

The following is economic news from the trucking industry:

FTR Associates’ Shippers Conditions Index for April was basically unchanged from the previous month with a moderately negative reading of -5.4. FTR says the index is expected to remain in a tight range throughout the summer.

The American Trucking Associations has announced its advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1 percent in April after increasing 0.6 percent in March. The latest drop put the adjusted index at 118.7, down from March’s level of 120.

For-hire carriers added 7,300 payroll jobs in May, up from an upwardly revised 2,700-job increase in April, according to the latest estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Payroll employment in trucking was up 0.55 percent over April and 3.4 percent over May 2011. Employment is up by 109,100 jobs, or 8.8 percent, from the bottom in March 2010, but it remains 110,100 jobs, or 7.6 percent, below the peak in January 2007.

Correction

In the May 2012 issue of Truck Parts & Service we erroneously referred to Betsy Ballard, director, Product Development and Growth, Detroit Reman as Bolland throughout the Remanufacturing Update: A Look At Engines. We apologize for the error and regret any confusion or inconvenience it may have caused.